{"id":6716,"date":"2013-04-15T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2013-04-15T16:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=6716"},"modified":"2013-04-15T15:13:47","modified_gmt":"2013-04-15T22:13:47","slug":"when-interviews-go-sideways-with-cowboy-junkies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2013\/04\/15\/when-interviews-go-sideways-with-cowboy-junkies\/","title":{"rendered":"When interviews go sideways, with Cowboy Junkies"},"content":{"rendered":"

My recent interview with Cowboy Junkies bassist Alan Anton began badly. But in the easygoing way common to all bassists I\u2019ve met, Anton didn\u2019t seem fazed. In fact, he was so laid back it was like having a conversation while one of their songs is playing. Can\u2019t be done.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Cowboy Junkies, stuck in a flight of stairs, looking at the camera for help (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Anton deadpanned his answers, I attempted to glean from him the answer to the mystery that is the band\u2019s mesmerizing sound. And as we chatted, I had a possible glimpse at why the secret behind the band\u2019s longevity might just be in the accommodating habits of their bass player. So be a fly on the wall for this awkward, hilarious, and occasionally revealing conversation.<\/p>\n

So how would you describe the Blue Rodeo sound? Oh, god, I knew I was going to do that!<\/i><\/p>\n

(Laughing) No, I get it.<\/p>\n

How would you describe the Cowboy Junkies sound? Is there a formula the band uses to produce that easygoing vibe?<\/i><\/p>\n

The sound is unintended; it just happens.<\/p>\n

A happy accident?<\/i><\/p>\n

Yeah, it\u2019s always amazing when things just do that.<\/p>\n

Hmm. Do you still use the Calrec, or Ambisonic mic? Does it contribute in some way, add to the echo, that sense of longing effect?<\/i><\/p>\n

We did try it but it didn\u2019t work on the third album. We used it for the first two albums, it captured what we were at the time, but now things are more complicated with our sound.<\/p>\n

You have kept your garage band freshness in some ways, that jam-session thing<\/i><\/p>\n

True, like we\u2019re all just getting together to play.<\/p>\n

Hmm. Did you have a moment when you were all playing together back in the beginning and suddenly knew\u0143there, that\u2019s it, that\u2019s the sound?<\/i><\/p>\n

We did, actually. There was a third brother on guitar [the group is made up of one Anton and three members of the Timmins family, sound was full. But he left. When we got together without him, that was our moment, when we knew.<\/p>\n

What made you choose the bass guitar? What influenced you?<\/i><\/p>\n

I like everything about the bass, completely, it\u2019s hard to explain. It has a lot to do with what I listen to, when I play I look for a sound that I like . . . but other players play well, I don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Oh, I\u2019m sure that\u2019s not I mean Oh, okay. Let\u2019s see I\u2019m surprised to find you living here, in Sooke. I assumed you were all in Toronto. How did you end up here?<\/i><\/p>\n

We all lived in Toronto, but then my wife and I had a child with allergies, a friend recommended the coast, and Sooke specifically, and the weather is better here, so we decided to move.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m floored. I mean, how do you practice? Not by Skype, surely.<\/i><\/p>\n

No, by plane. Yeah, by plane. I go there.<\/p>\n

Okay. What has held you all together for so long and with such a long commute for you?<\/i><\/p>\n

Personal friendship is the biggest thing, also the fact we\u2019re really happy with what we\u2019re making together.<\/p>\n

Cowboy Junkies
\nThursday, April 25
\nAlix Goolden Hall
\ncowboyjunkies.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My recent interview with Cowboy Junkies bassist Alan Anton began badly. But in the easygoing way common to all bassists I\u2019ve met, Anton didn\u2019t seem fazed. In fact, he was so laid back it was like having a conversation while one of their songs is playing. Can\u2019t be done. As Anton deadpanned his answers, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-april-3-2013"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6716"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6719,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6716\/revisions\/6719"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}